Roots of Hope

It was a red letter day for the Stump Up For Trees team on Saturday.

With a team of volunteers, we undertook tree maintenance at a site that we planted together in March 2021, near Crickhowell.

You may recall the story: Dr Jack Parry-Jones, who ran the Intensive Care Unit at Cardiff University Hospital during the pandemic, raised the money to fund this plant himself, in order to create a COVID memorial woodland, to remember all the patients who passed through the ICU during the pandemic, and to remember the extraordinary work of his medical colleagues. Jack was also looking to raise awareness around the energy hospitals use. The story was reported on the BBC.

We cleared bracken around the trees in the morning and then there was a small ceremony to install a very beautiful memorial bench (commissioned by Jack and made by Mick Petts).

The plaque in the middle of the bench (beech top, sweet chestnut feet) has the phrase ‘Roots of Hope’ - the name of the project - recorded in the 22 different languages then spoken by the ICU team, which invites us to consider the extraordinary diversity within the NHS.

The whole project, of course, invites us to consider the power of trees in creating a lasting memorial. This woodland of 1400 British native hardwood trees was planted on a site that was formerly woodland into the 20th century. As such, the trees have taken well: the bracken will need management for a few more years, but natural regeneration in the large areas we left unplanted is really good. 🙏 🌳 💚

Read more from our brilliant volunteer Gareth who wrote more about the day on LinkedIn. He also recorded a video from Jack talking about the project:

Thanks and strength to all the team

Rob